"Getting Off Easy"

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY

San Antonio Express-News
09/28/2022

The Express-News project "Getting Off Easy" brought to bear all the tools of local accountability reporting – tough questioning of elected judges and prosecutors, authoritative data analysis of court cases dating to 2009, deeply affecting reporting on the suffering of those unlucky enough to cross paths with a drunk behind the wheel – and eloquent editorials and opinion pieces demanding change.

In response to the coverage, Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales promised “a hard look” at plea-bargaining of DWI cases. Weeks later, he announced tight new restrictions aimed directly at the problems identified by the Express-News. Gonzales said the paper’s reporting showed that “too many offenders” who had injured people or whose intoxication was extreme had “benefited” from leniency they didn’t deserve.

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Submitted by Marc Duvoisin.